Foreign Minister Golda Meir conferred today with United States Ambassador Ogden R. Raid and, separately, with Canadian Ambassador Margaret Meagher. The conferences are believed to have been related to Israel’s concern over the detention by the United Arab Republic of the Greek freighter Astypalea, which has been held at Port Said since December 17. The ship had been halted by Egyptian authorities who insist on removing from the vessel a cargo of cement purchased by French Somaliland consignees in Haifa.
It was understood that, in her conference with Ambassador Reid, Mrs. Meir also brought up Israel’s long-pending request for a loan from is United States to help finance this country’s Jordan River project. That loan had, reportedly, been promised by Washington which, however, has taken no action to implement the promise.
Mrs. Meir is leaving for Africa tomorrow for another tour of several African capitals, which she visited a year ago. She will attend the ceremonies marking the independence of the Cameroons, and will represent Israel at the inauguration of President Tubman of Liberia. After two weeks in Africa, Mrs. Meir will return home via Europe where, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “she will spend a day or two in Western European capitals.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
